Derbyshire floral features company Plantscape is targeting new industry sectors as it begins the mammoth task of preparing 12,000 planters for the summer.
The company, in Hulland Ward, near Ashbourne, is the country’s leading supplier of floral features, including hanging baskets and multi-tier floor-standing planters, to local authorities and business improvement districts all over the UK.
Last year it was acquired by landscape services, estate management and play space services providers TCL Group and, following the acquisition, Plantscape has begun to access markets already served by the Group’s other companies, including Burleys and TCL.
It has already agreed deals with a number of facilities management companies working with shopping centres and pubs up and down the country and more opportunities are in the pipeline, in addition to healthy orders from new and existing customers, including Hitchin BID and the Big Heart of Merthyr Tydfil BID, both of which were new customers this time last year.
Plantscape began its planting up operation three weeks ago, having added an extra 500sqm to its 30,000sqm growing space over the winter to meet extra demand. It estimates that it will plant some 300,000 individual plug plants over the next month and will start to deliver its displays at the beginning of June.
Richard Webster, group operations support manager for TCL, said: “Once again, we are experiencing strong demand from local authorities and business improvement districts but we are delighted to have extended our service to other sectors, namely retail and leisure.
“Those orders have come through Plantscape’s growing close working relationship with TCL Group’s other companies, which work across a wide range of sectors including construction, estate management and education.
“It all points to a busy summer ahead for everyone at Plantscape, from our sales executives to our road crews and planting teams, who are currently busy creating our displays in our greenhouses ready for when they will be delivered in early June.”
Plantscape enjoyed its busiest-ever year last year and is also increasing the export side of its business, having appeared at the giant IPM show in Essen, Germany, in January. Previously, it has supplied displays used at a host of major sporting events, including the London 2012 Olympics, the 2014 Commonwealth Games and golf’s Open Championship.
